Five Mischievous Dirt Free Flower Gardening Ideas

If you've always envied the desperate housewives' well-tended gardens in Wisteria Lane but don't have a green thumb to get started, now is your chance to get a well-manicured and good-looking flower garden literally without getting dirt on your hands. Check out the list and give that mischievous pixie or lazy bones in you a treat.

Do-it-yourself ideas:

1. Buy plastic flowers and plants. The garden set of Wisteria Lane is actually plastic, so you might want to take your lead from there. Plastic flowers and plants deceptively look just as good as the real ones and don't require the slightest maintenance except for occasional dusting or vacuuming. With the flowers always in full bloom and your plants always a lush green, your garden will look infinitely pristine and consistently well-kept. A flowery spray here and there will keep your toy garden sweet-smelling, but do this only when you have visitors or want some aroma therapy session for yourself.

2. Wear garden gloves. When you feel a bit guilty about not lifting any finger on your garden while the rest of the neighborhood have theirs all grimy and soiled, do some dirty work yourself but don't forget to wear your garden gloves. Let the dirt stick on your gloves and not your hands and nails. To minimize the chances of getting dirt on your hands, settle for pot flower gardening. There's less soil you'll be working on with this type of gardening since you don't have to hoe the ground and uproot nasty weeds. A piece of cake, your job will revolve on filling container pots with soil and transplanting and arranging flowers.

Let-others-do-it-for-you ideas:

3. Hire a gardener and a landscaper. Bask in your filthy-rich status and let someone else literally do all the dirty work for you. If you have no cash to burn, check out suggestions 4 and 5.

4. Invite your doting grandma or aunt over the weekend. Your doting relative will love starting your garden for you. Select a close family member with a green thumb and one who might owe you some favor. Be extra nice to her; pay for her fare; cook her dinner; treat her to some inexpensive shopping spree, then ask for gardening help. The royal treatment she gets from her favorite grandchild or favorite niece is inspiration enough to create that beautiful garden you've been dreaming about. Do not forget to praise her and thank her profusely for her masterpiece. You'll never know when you need “next times.”

5. Choose a roomie who loves gardening. You have the upper hand if you're looking for someone to share your room with. Immediately screen applicants by their interests in gardening. Show them your room and ask what gardening ideas will best apply; look for affirmative statements that strongly indicate the applicants' drive to put the gardening plan to action. If you're the one who's about to rent a room, be on the active search for roomie searchees with a green thumb like the artistic and home body types. The sight of an existing flower garden is equivalent to hitting the jackpot; all you need to do is play nice, move in and enjoy the garden atmosphere without having to do any dirty work (which your roomie will do for you).